"Hello to all returning and new manatee trackers! This is Cathy Beck from the
Sirenia Project in Florida. I'm back for the 4th year with my fellow scientists,
Jim Reid, Bob Bonde, and Susan Butler, and we are ready to go!

Watch For Big News
"Watch for big news in the next few weeks--we expect to tag and release 4 manatees
for you to help us follow. They include two males, 'Comet' and 'Brian', and two females
'Xoshi' and 'Calista'. You probably remember Brian and Xoshi from last year - we're
going to try again and hope they fare better at this release site!

Bye Mom, I'm On My Own
"Right now you can begin tracking "Ivan", a wild manatee that's never
been captive. We tracked him last year when he was just a calf swimming with his
mother, Dmitra. Now he's on his own! His latest data are below. He's already tagged
and swimming on the west coast of Florida.

Catch Me if You Can

Knicky

"Susan Butler is trying to retag Knicky, the long-distance traveler that Journey
North students have tracked for two years now. Knicky lost her tag in early December.
Her travels have become well known and fun to follow, because you never know where
she'll go next, or how far! While Susan is trying to retag her, take a look at Knicky's
data below. Can you figure out how a international news event affected her travels
last Fall?

"Enjoy tracking and learning about the manatees this season! We thank you for
your interest in these beautiful and unique endangered mammals."

It's time to take your first look at the satellite tracking data for Ivan and Knicky,
which is provided below. Start your research by plotting their movements on a map,
using location and dates. We'll have tracking data for the other manatees when they're
released.

From Cathy Beck's letter above, it looks like Knicky's done it again! Just take
a look at her travel data from this fall. After you plot her data, can you answer:

Challenge Question #1:"Plot Knicky's travels between August 31 and September 16, 1999. What international
news event reported in newspapers worldwide had an effect on little Knicky during
this time period? Why and how do you think it affected her?"

Challenge Question #2:"Using the September 13 and October 5, 1999 latitude readings for Knicky,
can you figure out how far she traveled? For help in using satellite data to calculate
distance go to:

Suggestions for Student Research
Remember that this data gives you a rare opportunity to conduct your own scientific
research. For some ideas on developing your own research topics with this data, take
a look at:

1. Address an E-mail message to: jn-challenge-manatee@learner.org
2.IMPORTANT: In the Subject Line of your message write:
Challenge Question #1 (OR #2)
3. In the body of the EACH message, give your answer to ONE of the questions above.